Vintage Diecast Robot Top 15

[admin1 aka Ed]

[glow=red,2,300]What would be your top 15 of vintage diecast robots? [/glow]

I suggest 60% of the score to designs you like, 15% to rarity, and 25% of the score to diecast content. This is the criterion I will use and it is a suggestion.

-Point is, I thought it would be interesting to see what the clan likes.

I'll tell you my votes later

[shaxper]

define "vintage"? Are we talking Popy Era only?

[admin1 aka Ed]

Let's keep it to 15 year old toys or older

[diecastjunkie]

Here is my list of 15

1. Popy Pot Belly T-28 - classic design, solid & heavy
2. Popy Mach Baron - personal favour
3. Takara Jeeg - endless playability
4. Popy Voltes V - everyone's favour
5. Bullmark Mekanda Robo "mid-sized" - heavy and lots of gimmics
6. Bullmark King Ghidora - it's so bad, yet so cool
7. Takatoku Otasuke-Sande DX - lots of gimmicks
8. Popy Grandizer - another classic
9. Takemi Pegas - no reason other than it's the most expensive toy I have
10. Nakajima Pegas - solid, simple yet elegant design
11. Popy DX Raideen - first transforming Popy diecast
12. Popy Poseidon - my son's favour
13. Popy DX Daitetsujin 17 - cool transforming design
14. Poem Govarian - like Mazinga, but more gimmicks
15. Popy Sir Jogo - he's just cool...

[shaxper]

Some nominations, in no particular order:


Diaclone Fortress X: More thought and detail went into this guy than any other toy ever made. He's only part die-cast, but WOW!

Chogokin Mazinger Z: The mother of all Die-cast robots, plus it's a pretty cool looking toy, with lots of fun spring-loaded projectiles.

Transformers G1 Optimus Prime: Aside from being quite famous, this toy is just plain SATISFYING to transform and look at.

GoDaiKin Bioman DX: Heavy die-cast content, a lot of fun to transform, and awesome looking in both modes. Really masters the classic "bulky" look.

Takotoku 1/55 Macross Valkyrie: A die-cast legend that looks amazing in all three modes.

Diaclone Diattacker: Beautiful in both modes, very satisfying to transform, and a very generous die-cast content (aside from the legs).

[jwm]

#1 favorite Daikumaryu Gaiking DX
#2 VoltesV
#3 Combattler V
#4 Mekandarobo DX (space age primitive)
#5 Dai Baron DX (more space age primitive)
#6 Diapolon trio (Header, Legger, Trung)
#7 Gaiking
#8 Dangard A
#9 Daitesunjin 17
#10 Grandaizer UFO
#11 Daimos DX
#12 Daibaron (mid-size semi DX)
#13 GA 01 Mazinger (mib. eat your hearts out )
#14 mid-size Mekandarobo
#15 Tri max gassin Mekanda car set (not really a robot, but cool nonetheless)

This represents the cream of my 70's stash. Soon I will embark on The Big Shoot, and have decent pictures to share.
JWM

[JB]

1. Popy GA-09 DX Raideen (For of him, and through him, and for him are all things. Amen.)
2. Popy GA-63 Tetsujin 28 (Potbelly version)
3. Popy GA-10 Getta Dragon
4. Popy GA-05 Great Mazinger
5. Popy GA-12 Getta Poseidon
6. Popy GA-11 Getta Raiga
7. Popy GA-02 Getta 1
8. Popy GA-07 Mach Baron
9. Takatoku 1/55 Battroid Valkyrie VF1S (Skull Leader)
10. Popy GA-37 Grendizer
11. Bullmark Young Mekanda Robo
12. Bullmark Gasshin Robo Daibaron (yellow or blue)
13. Takara/Hasbro Gen. 1 Optimus Prime
14. Takatoku Cyborg 009
15. Popy GA-51 Gaiking (actually ranks #4, but I thought of him too late and I'm too lazy to rearrange my list.)

[machinesoldier]

1. Clover Gundam DX Combination (take THAT, kadou senshi!!)
2. Godaikin Voltes V (the industry standard)
3. Popy Battle Fever robo ( the 1st sentai bot)
4. Popy ST Dangard Ace (personal favorite)
5. Clover DX Xabungle (big, bad, blue. Oh, and HEAVY!!)
6. Takatoku 1/55 Valkyrie (pick one. They all rock)
7. Takara 1/72 Dougram (or the soltic, or the blockhead...)
8. Takatoku 1/40 Orgroid (too strange for words)
9. Diaclone Battle Buffalo (Bubble-Head!)
10. Popy KikouKantai (mid-size) Dairugger XV (if only it could break down to all 15 vehicles!)
11. Takatoku 1/55 Bonaparte Tulcas
12. Gakken 1/35 Legioss (any of em)
13. Clover DX Irongear (the big one)
14. Bandai DX Change Robo (just because!)
15. Popy Gaiking

There would be a SG-01 Tetsujin in that list, if I owned one...

[Daikengo]

1)Gakeen friction SAN -ZEN (terribly rare!)
2)DX Daikengo (Best takatoku ever)
3)T28 chokinzoku
4) Dx MEKANDA robot
5) GA50 daikumaryu gaiking
6)DX Dai apolon bullmark
7)PEGAS DX takemi (finally in my collection! rare like hell)
7)DX Zanbot 3 clover
8)Goshogun DX takatoku
9)DX Tryder henkei gattai clober
10)Poplar Acrobunch
11)DX DaiBARON bullmark
12)DX Ideon Tomy
13)DX grand figher takemi
14)DX Voltes V popy
15)Dx Big dai X takatoku


For me only vintage !!!!

[www-greattoys-net]

The more the gimiks, the better for me! Here is my list

#1 - Jet Icarus and Jet Garuda (this is from 1989 so it counts right? What a gokin toy should be, truly playable, fun, numerous gimiks, multiple transformations and gattai combinations!)

#2 - Battle Fever & Battle Shark
#3 - Combattler DX
#4 - Voltes V DX
#5 - Tetsujin 28 SG-01
#6 - Gaiking Daikyumaryu DX
#7 - Daikengo DX
#8 - Zanbot DX
#9 - Combattler Denzi Gattai
#10 - Flash King DX
#11 - Maskman DX / Bio Great V
#12 - Fiveman DX
#13 - Daileon DX
#14 - Mekanda Robo DX
#15 - Big Scale Yamato Battleship (Screws are diecast metal too right? ;D )

[cybermuton]

This was harder than I thought! I decided to limit my list to the Top15 from toys I actually have, otherwise it’d be full of uninformed ravings about ultra-rare and obscure items, which in truth, may not actually live up to their hype.
Obviously, I’ll still buy such things in due course, but for now, here’s my $0.02

And I should say that all my toys are now packed in boxes ready for a move, so this is all done from memory…so cut me some slack if I miss a few details.

1. Takara Diaclone Fortress X
If you have him, you know why. If you don’t – sell your T28 and get one. From his awesome box artwork to his drivers, this guy is King of the robots. Yes, I know there’s a fair bit of plastic to him, but his chest piece is totally solid metal, and that alone makes him weigh more than enough. Gimmicks everywhere, clear plastic tubes, springs, flying spaceships, ejecting cars, drivers, cabs, chutes – and he’s huge too. No. he can’t be beaten.

2. Popy SG01 Tetsujin 28
Takara’s Great Robot base would have been second, but I don’t think a few metal plates qualify that big boy as diecast, so…it’s T28. (See my separate review elsewhere on RJ) It took me a while to truly appreciate, but I’ve now grown accustomed to that face. Again, great gimmicks, elevators, maintenance robots, boy-pilots, tilting seat, magnets, missiles, axes…He’s pretty much got it all. His panels are a bit wobbly, but I’ll get over that. My only criticisms are that his head crest doesn’t come off for use as an axe, and he has that goofy Pinocchio nose.

3. Bullmark Daibaron ST
The ST version is in here because of its total lack of fragility and articulation/transformation that the DXs allow. And because I don’t have a DX…But this guy is a big fat lump of metal. Yes, he has coupla plastic cogs here and there, and that great plastic chest piece, but he’s a solid and evil-faced robot. A worthy number 3.

4. Ark Red/Black King
First of three ARKs – and they’re in no particular order. The two Kings are treated as one here because they’re similar in style. Apart, of course, from Red King’s Gatling gun chest. In some ways, that elevates Red above Black, but aesthetically for me – it doesn’t look so good. So Black King wins on looks, while Red King has the firepower. As an aside, I had to take one of my Red Kings apart, and the Gatling gun mechanism is in fact the hand-held gun from the Baltan figure, but with the handle crudely sliced off. And why not?

5. Ark Gomola
Gomola comes in here because he is without a doubt the stupidest looking thing ever. Even worse than those Robocon Washing Machine rabbits…But the gimmicks do it again – extending neck, flying saucers, pullback action clip-on go-kart. What the heck were those ARK guys doing?! And you can make him stand up vertical almost like a ‘normal’ robot, or stretch him out and he looks like a Daikuu. Excellent. Oh yes, and his jaw works (like most ARKs), and he doesn’t have hands. He has Digger-shovels.

6. Ark King Kong/Meka Kong
Last of the ARKs here. King Kong is in because he’s great. He weighs a ton. He has the same ARK interconnections, and he has metal knives that spring out of his nipples. How could any toy get better? Well, this one also has an aeroplane that fires out of his navel. Now that’s entertainment.

7. SOC Daikuu
The only SOC entry. The SOC Daikuu gets the nod here above other SOCs because of his weight, and his danger. If you can pick one up without drawing blood, then you’re a better man than I. OK, I’m kidding – you’re not. But this thing is so pointy…And all those accessories and modes…and magnets. And transformability. And sub-figures. Oh yes. And he's still as dumb-looking as the GA52.

8. Bandai THE Chogokin Mach Baron
I would like to have the original Popy Mach Baron in here, but in truth, this one’s just as good, and in some ways (vintage appeal aside) he’s better. I just love accessories, and this one has a racing car parked in his foot. And it’s tiny, so that just makes it better. Actually, all THE Chogokin series are pretty good – Mazinger’s pilder comes off, and is smaller than my baby’s fingernail. (And as a total aside….If you ever get a Gashapon Daikuu – don’t throw away the little white sprue that comes with it. Look through a jeweller’s loupe at it, and you’ll see absolutely minute spaceships on it…Skylar, Bazoler, and the other one whose name escapes me…Excellent). Anyway Mach Baron looks great, he’s red, he fires missiles and fists, and he’s a worthy entrant in any form.

9. Bullmark Robo Biton pink guy
I can’t remember this guy’s actual name. (Give me a break – all my toys are currently in storage awaiting emigration, and even if they weren’t, I don’t read Japanese…) Anyway, he’s pink, he has a hat, and his great gimmick is that you push a button on his back and his eyes pop out. That’s what we want. I remember that the picture on the back of his box shows him as some kind of spy…Who cares? He’s a little gem.

Popy GA81 Daitetetsujin 17
Another great chunk of danger. Crudely transforming from a robot into a bent-in-half robot with a makeshift landing strip on his back, this one’s a winner again. Accessories again - he comes with aeroplanes in his feet, and missiles in his stomach. You can’t want much more can you?

8. GA37 DX Grendizer
I like Grendizer. I like his winged head. And I like his frilly cuffs. And I like that he slots into a UFO Saucer. So that’s why this set is in here. Yes, the saucer’s plastic, and yes, Grendizer’s Chest V is always chipped, but so what? This is what Popy’s were all about.

9. Takara Diaclone Microx/Reflector
I like a good ol’ combining robot. The three component robots of reflector are satisfyingly diecast based (with limited articulation of course – hey, they look like those old Takara Blockman figures!), and when fitted together, they’re a pretty convincing old 35mm SLR camera. Hooray! Being able to fire a missile at your subject instead of a flash is pretty cool, and the best thing is that you can actually see through the SLR viewfinder through the lens. Even my wife was vaguely interested in that feature.

10. Takatoku Dai X
I don’t have the enormous DaiX, but this DX Dai X is good enough for me. Sadly based on the worst ever TV series, but other than that, this is a very nice item. Weighs a ton, and has great transforming abilities. (from a good robot into a sort of space freighter – looks like Vavilos…) And I love the sprung legs with the visible endo-skeleton. That’s such a nice touch that TT decided to fancy up the internal structure rather than just having plain metal struts. And he has a plastic X on his face. Who doesn’t want one of those?

11. Victora Dairugger XV (Gold)
I know mine is a KO, but I don’t mind. It’s still solid metal. This one’s like a jewel. Standing less than 3 inches tall, with all the component parts that make up the vehicle team, and all in beautiful gold. With a dangerous metal sword, and weird rubber-treaded connectors, I have no idea how anyone could have made this thing profitably. These are dead cheap, and are worthy of my Top 15 any day.

12. Bullmark Bullpet Godzilla
Not strictly a robot you say. No. But how many dinosaurs do you know whose chest flips down to reveal an aircraft hanger, with an extending arm containing a pod with two miniscule pilots in it (you need that jeweller’s loupe again to see ‘em)? And of those dinosaurs, how many have tanks parked inside their feet? And missiles firing from their chest cavity? Well, get Bullmark’s ‘zilla and you’ll know at least one. Heavy, dumb-looking, and the clincher - apart from the gimmicks and vehicles – an opening jaw. How did Darwin miss this one?

13. Takara TF/Diaclone Soundwave/Cassette Man
Just qualifying because of his metal legs….This one gets in on gimmicks. He’s a pretty good looking robot. He is a very convincing Cassette Walkman (in itself an anachronism these days…), and he has some truly great gimmicks. Open his battery cover and there’s two batteries in there. Take ‘em out, and they become his missile launchers. Then flip open his cassette doors, and take out the cassette. Then transform THAT into a dog, or a robot, or a rhinoceros, or a bat, etc. Now that’s pretty excessive detailing, no? And if you think that toy makers wouldn’t bother doing that these days, then I urge you, spend $10 on one of those ‘Smallest Transformers’ Soundwaves. He does exactly the same (batteries, cassette, etc.) but he’s less than an inch tall. And the (transforming) Ravage is pinkie-nail sized…

14. Popy GA36 Robo Inu
He’s a metal dog. He has a bucket on his head concealing a robotic brain. He comes with foreign coins, and if you press his back, his tongue comes out and he squeaks.

15 Popy Press Dog
I can’t remember his number. But, he’s got some diecast content – not as much as the first series Robocons. This is from the RoboMaru series, and he’s just so dumb! He’s a bulldog. He holds a pencil and a camera; (included), and if you turn a handle, he produces newspapers from his mouth. Like I say, I like gimmicks, OK?